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Trump tweets: His reputation has been shattered. Not fair, Tester! after Democratic senator released damaging allegations about VA nominee

Donald Trump has called for the abdication of Jon Tester, the Democratic senator who released details of accusations against Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor who withdrew his nomination to be secretary of veterans affairs.

” Allegations make use of Senator Jon Tester against Admiral/ Doctor Ron Jackson are demonstrating false ,” the president tweeted.” The Secret Service is unable to confirm( in fact they deny) any of the phony Democrat charges which have absolutely devastated the wonderful Jackson family. Tester should resign .”

Before playing golf in Virginia on Saturday morning, Trump added a shot is targeted at voters in Montana, where Tester will run for a third word in November against an as yet undecided Republican. The GOP primary, on 5 June, will feature one candidate who has hired an aide who lied about the assault of a Guardian reporterby congressman Greg Gianforte in 2017.

The Senate majority whip, John Cornyn, said on Thursday Tester had” poked the bear”, inviting Trump to intervene in a state he won by 20 phases in 2016. On Saturday morning Trump duly growled, writing:” The great people of Montana will not stand for this kind of slander when talking of a great human being.

” Admiral Jackson is the kind of human that those in Montana would most respect and admire, and now, for no reason whatsoever, his reputation has been shattered. Not fair, Tester !”

After his outing to his golf club in northern Virginia, Trump returned to the offensive, comparing the allegations against Jackson to the Russia investigation by special advise Robert Mueller.” Secret Service has just informed me that Senator Jon Tester’s statements on Admiral Jackson are not true ,” he wrote.” There were no such findings.

” A horrible thing that we in DC must live with, just like phony Russian Collusion. Tester should lose race in Montana. Very dishonest and sick !”

Jackson’s nomination to run the sprawling VA came after he delivered a glowing endorsement of Trump’s health. His nomination instantly attracted criticism, dedicated his lack of relevant bureaucratic experience.

Tester is the ranking Democrat on the Senate veterans affairs committee, the panel which considered the nomination. Its term of office collected allegations of misconduct, which included a claim that Jackson” got drunk and wrecked a government vehicle” at a secret service party.

Democratic staff on the Senate committee also claimed the doctor doled out such a large render of a prescription opioids that his staffers panicked since they are guessed the narcotics were missing. They said their allegations were based on conversations with 23 of Jackson’s current and former colleagues at the White House medical unit.

Jackson has called the accusations” baseless and anonymous attacks” and” totally false and fabricated “.

In a statement on Saturday, Tester told:” It’s my duty to make sure Montana veterans get what they need and have earned, and I’ll never stop fighting for them as their senator .”

An email from the senator’s office added:” President Trump has signed eight of Tester’s bills into statute to hold the[ Department of Veterans Affairs] accountable and be enhanced care and benefits for veterans .”

On Friday, the White House released records it said raised doubts concerning some of the most serious allegations. The records, including police reports, indicated Jackson was in three minor incidents in government vehicles in the last five years, but none involved alcohol and he was not found to be at fault.

The White House medical unit passed regular controlled substance audits, according to records for the last three years. The reviews did recommend improvements to the unit’s handled in controlled substance, but did not find misconduct.

The documents were the result of an internal White House review, encompassing recent years. Tester’s office has not specified the time frame in which the alleged misconduct resulted. Tester’s spokeswoman, Marnee Banks, told the AP the office would not commentary until it knew more about the White House records.

The secret service issued a statement on Thursday about allegations, reported by CNN, that during a foreign trip in 2015 Jackson drunkenly banged on the hotel room door of a female employee and secret service personnel intervened out of concern he would wake President obama. The secret service said it had find” no information that would indicate the accusation is accurate “.

On Thursday, Tester was more forthright than in his Saturday statement. In statements reported by Politico, he said:” If[ Trump] thinks it’s my job to sweep his stuff under the table and ignore our military folks, he’s wrong. If he thinks I should not be sticking up for veterans, he’s wrong. I look forward to working with President Trump. I’ve worked with him many times in the past, but we disagree .”

Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said:” Jon poked the bear. Did you insure the bear today? The bear was mad. If there was any doubt[ Trump] was coming to Montana[ to campaign against Tester] it was removed today. He overreached .”

Trump has defended Jackson strongly. At a press conference with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, on Friday, the president told:” These were false accusations about a great man, about a human who has a son who’s a top student at Annapolis, about a human that’s devoted his life to this country, and to the military. A brave man. He would have been a great leader .”

Trump noted that he, Obama and former chairwoman George W Bush had all praised Jackson and said he had called him to say he was ” an American hero” because he had” exposed the organizations of the system for some horrible things “.

Trump said he was considering a number of potential VA picks, including” some very political people “.

We deserve to have lawmakers who understand that prioritizing public safety is not a political issue it is a matter of common sense, says Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

‘ I’ve lost patience for lawmakers and talking heads who tweet about thoughts and prayers but continue to put the interests of the NRA before the safety of American families .’ Photograph: Rhona Wise/ AFP/ Getty

Daca recipients, known as Dreamers, listen to remarks from House minority leader Nancy Pelosi in Washington. Photo: Shawn Thew/ EPA

Quick guide

What is Daca and who are the Dreamers?

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Who are the Dreamers?

Dreamers are young immigrants who would qualify for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival( Daca) program, enacted under Barack Obama in 2012. Most people in the program entered the US as children and have lived in the US for years “undocumented”. Daca gave them temporary protection from expulsion and work permits. Daca was only available to people younger than 31 on 15 June 2012, who arrived in the US before turning 16 and lived there endlessly since June 2007. Most Dreamers are from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and the largest numbers live in California, Texas, Florida and New York. Donald Trump cancelled the program in September but has also said repeatedly he wants Congress to develop a program to “help” the population.

What will happen to the Dreamers?

Under the Trump administration, new applications under Daca will no longer be accepted. For those currently in the program, their legal status and other Daca-related permits( such as to work and attend college) will begin expiring in March 2018- unless Congress passes legislation letting a new channel for temporary or permanent legal migration status- and Dreamers will all “losing ones” status by March 2020.

Technically, as their statuses lapse they could be deported and was sent out to countries many have no familiarity with. It is still unclear whether this would happen. Fear had been rising in the run-up to last week’s announcement. Those with work permits expiring between 5 September 2017 and 5 March 2018 will be allowed to apply for renewal by 5 October.

What does the recent ruling by Judge William Alsup mean?

In his ruling, Alsup ordered the Trump administration to restart the program, permitting Daca recipients who already qualify for the program to submit applications for renewal.

However, he said the federal government did not have to process new applications from people who had not previously received protection under the program.

When the Trump administration ended the Daca program, it allowed Daca recipients whose legal status expired on or before 5 March to renew their legal status. Approximately 22,000 recipients failed to successfully renew their legal status for various reasons.

Legal experts and immigration proponents are advising Daca recipients not to file for renewal until the administration provides more information about how it intends to comply with the ruling.

” These next days and weeks are going to create a lot of embarrassment on the legal front ,” said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, which has filed a separate lawsuit against the Trump administration’s termination of Daca.

The entertainment entrepreneurs electrifying speech at the Golden Globes produced an outpouring of reaction urging the celebrity to run in 2020

Oprah Winfrey for president? That was the burning question in American politics on Monday after the amusement celebrity and entrepreneur delivered a barnstorming speech that had many hailing her as the antidote to Donald Trump.

Speaking at the Golden Globe awards in Hollywood on Sunday night, Winfrey moved the audience to tears as she praised women who have shared their tales of sexual harassment and abuse and declared that” a new day is on the horizon “.

In a measure of how Trump, a wealthy TV celebrity and political novice, has changed the rules of video games, there was an instant surge of tweets with the hashtags “Oprahforpresident” and “Oprah2020” exhorting Winfrey to run in the elections in November 2020.

After the speech, the actor and producer, who is chief executive of the OWN cable channel, told theBloomberg news organisation that she has no plans to run. But on Monday CNN reported that she is” actively thinking” about it , citing two close friends, whom it did not name. And the Los Angeles Times quoted Stedman Graham, Winfrey’s longtime partner, as saying:” It’s up to the people … She would utterly do it .”

While she shares Trump’s status as a multimillionaire, Winfrey’s identity as a liberal African American woman- who pointedly defended the press in her speech- would have symbolic power against an incumbent who has admitted groping women, repeatedly stoked racial divisions and often assaulted the” fake news” media.

But on another level, Winfrey, 63, raised during poverty by a single mom, could pitch herself as a consensus builder. As host of the top-rated talkshow The Oprah Winfrey Show for 25 years until 2011, she was in the living room of millions of Americans, carving out a persona as a good listener in touch with the ordinary citizen, cutting across class, gender and race.

And Trump’s potential criticism of her has already been blunted. When he was contemplating a presidential run in 1999, he said Winfrey would be his first choice as a work mate.” I love Oprah ,” he told CNN .” She’s popular, she’s brilliant, she’s a wonderful girl … That would be a pretty good ticket .”

Political analysts suggested the talk of a Winfrey run, presumably for the Democratic party, was more than mere hype. Robert Shrum, a Democratic consultant who worked on Al Gore and John Kerry’s election campaigns, said:” I’ve been sceptical of people with no political experience because recent experience proves we need person with experience, but I suppose she can escape that. People like her, people trust her and she’s not a phony businesswoman .”

The Golden Globes, Hollywood’s first awards ceremony leading up to the Oscars, was dominated by the #MeToo movement after a year that considered dozens of powerful men in amusement, politics and the media accused of sexual abuse or harassment. Winfrey, who along with most of the show’s other female attendees wore a black gown to indicate support for victims, was the first African American woman to receive the annual Cecil B DeMille award.

Oprah Winfrey’s powerful Golden Globes speech: ‘a new day is on the horizon’ – video

Forbes magazine last year calculated her net worth at$ 3bn and ranked her third on its listing of the America’s richest self-made girls. But she would face a gruelling cycle of debates, caucuses and primaries, an expectation that she would release her tax returns and the forensic scrutiny of her private life that comes with all presidential runs.

Michael Cornfield , associate prof of political management at George Washington University, said:” It depends on her capacity to put together a good team. Her oratorical skills are an obvious asset and she has a ready-made audience, but it takes more than that to get the nomination and get elected. We don’t know from here whether she’s interested but she has plenty of hour .”

The flurry of supposition around Winfrey comes after Trump powered his successful 2016 campaign on the back of his reputation from the reality Tv show The Apprentice and as Hollywood star Dwayne” The Rock” Johnson is also said to be considering a White House run. Some commentators warned of the dangers of espousing fame at the expense of political pedigree or expertise.

Bill Galston , a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington and former policy adviser to President Bill Clinton, said:” If the idea that anyone with celebrity and 100% name recognition can be president is the legacy of our misbegotten times, that would be the most pernicious idea of all. The disdain for the art of politics has held sway on one side of the political aisle; if it takes hold on the other, God save us .”

Donald Trump has said his first major legislative victory would be a big, beautiful Christmas present for Americans

Senate Republicans have passed a sweeping overhaul of the US tax code, placing Donald Trump on the brink of scoring his first major legislative victory.

The Senate approved the $ 1.5 trillion taxation bill, which includes permanent tax breaks for corporations and temporary tax cuts for individuals, by a final referendum of 51-48. Once legislated, the legislation will represent the most drastic changes to the US tax code since 1986.

The bill was passed along party line, with every Senate Republican present voting in its favor and all Democrats voting against it. Arizona senator John McCain, who is undergoing treatment for brain cancer, was the lone member to be absent for the vote.

Although the bill’s passageway was expected, tensions boiled to a surface area as the final referendum was held, as Democrats sharply blamed Republicans for a bill independent analysts have projected will disproportionately benefit the wealthy and corporations.

The legislation must go back to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Wednesday for final approving, but is expected to pass.

The bill lowers the top individual tax rate from 39.6% to 37% and slashes the corporate tax rates to 21%, a dramatic autumn from its current rate of 35%.

In remarks on the Senate floor, Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, said Republicans would” rue the working day” when they passed the bill, which he blasted as a “disgrace”. A visibly thwarted Schumer then scolded Republicans for talking during his speech.

” This is serious stuff. We believe you’re messing up America ,” Schumer, a Democrat from New York, told Republicans.” You could pay attention for a couple of minutes .”

As the vote occurred, activists in the press gallery hollered” Kill the bill, don’t kill us “. The chaotic proceedings were eventually called to order by vice president Mike Pence, who was presiding over the chamber for what will soon mark a rare but significant achievement for the Trump administration.

After the bill passed, Republican celebrated the moment in a late-night press conference where Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell hit back against criticism that the tax overhaul was unpopular among the public.

” If we can’t sell this to the American people, we ought to go into another line of work ,” McConnell said.

The Senate vote came hours after House Republicans passed the tax bill by a vote of 227 to 203, with 12 Republicans voting against the plan and no Democrats supporting it. The House will nonetheless be forced to vote on the legislation once more on Wednesday, after it was discovered that the bill they passed fell short of the necessary rules for Senate Republicans to pass it with a simple majority.

The Senate subsequently stripped out the minor provisions that were in violation of the rules, clearing the way for House Republican to hold a second vote on Wednesday and then send the bill to Trump’s desk for his signature.

Democrats say the failure to write a bill that would are appropriate Senate rules- an avoidable misstep- underscored the slapdash way and lightening fast velocity at which Republicans assembled their tax overhaul.

The urgency among Republicans to pass a tax bill before the year’s end was similarly underscored when they provided lawmakers with a copy of the 500 -page tax plan hours before an initial referendum was scheduled on the legislation. In an online video, Senator Jon Tester, Democrat of Montana, called it” Washington DC at its worst” as he flipped through the pages, showing off the handwritten changes in the margins.

After the House vote, Trump praised House Republican leadership for delivering the $1.5 tn taxation cut scheme.

Donald J. Trump (@ realDonaldTrump)

Congratulations to Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Kevin Brady, Steve Scalise, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and all great House Republicans who voted in favor of cutting your taxes!

Despite the delay, Congress is still expected tosend the bill to Trump in time to deliver what he has promised would be a” big, beautiful Christmas present” for the nation.

Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, went in so far as it call it” the worst bill in history” in a press conference on Tuesday. She described it as” an all-out looting of America, a wholesale robbery of the middle class” and said:” The GOP tax scam will go down, again, as one of the most serious, most scandalous acts of plutocracy in its own history .”

The tax plan legislates a deep and permanent cut for firms, slashing the top rate from 35% to 21%. The bill also includes taxation cuts for individuals and families of all income levels, with the largest breaches going to the wealthiest Americans. The individual taxation cuts are slated to expire in 2025, a move to comply with Senate budget regulations, but Republican said a future Congress would extend them.

” This is one of the most important point pieces of legislation that Congress has passed in decades to help the American worker to help grow the American economy ,” Paul Ryan, the House Speaker, said moments after the bill passed.” This is profound change and this is change “whos going to” put our country on the right path .”

Congressman Steve Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, added:” Today the impossible became the inevitable again .”

Democrats were excluded from the closed-door sessions where the plan was crafted. They have condemned the measure as a handout to the wealthy and firms, and promised to use it as a cudgel against Republican in the 2018 midterms.

Republicans have long pushed tax reform as a way to simplify the US tax code, but the proposal would maintain all seven existing taxation brackets for individuals. The bill has faced significant criticism because it would limit tax deductions for home mortgages and state and local taxes, as well as adding over a trillion dollars to the budget deficit.

The bill would not only reshape tax policy in the United States. It also contains provisions to allow oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic national wildlife refuge, and would eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, which requires Americans to either buy health insurance or pay a penalty.

Despite being heralded by Republican and the White House as a major accomplishment, the bill is deeply unpopular. A CNN poll released earlier on Tuesday found that 55% of voters had a unfavorable position of the scheme and only 33% position it favorably.

Ryan dismissed criticism of the bill, saying ” results are what’s going to make this popular “.

Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress but has all along been failed to achieve a major legislative victory, relished the moment hours before the vote was scheduled on Tuesday.

Doug Jones becomes first Democrat to win any statewide office in Alabama in a decade after Moores campaign for Senate marred by sexual assault claims

The Democrat Doug Jones has beaten his Donald Trump-backed Republican rival Roy Moore in the diehard Republican state of Alabama, setting off a political earthquake likely to shake Washington.

His victory in a special election for a US Senate seat- by a margin of 49. 9 to 48.4 with 100% of precincts reporting- is a major personal jolt to the president and his efforts to pass taxation reform on Capitol Hill.

Jones was able to become the first Democrat in a decade to win any statewide office in Alabama by beating Moore, who had faced multiple allegations of sexual assault during a campaign which uncovered Republican party faultlines.

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Who is Doug Jones?

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Early life

The 63 -year-old grew up in the working-class city of Fairfield, simply west of Birmingham, an region once dominated by the steel industry. His father was a steelworker and he spent hour working in a mill when not in school

Democratic roots and the KKK

Jones got his start in government as an aide to the last Democrat to serve a full term in the Senate from Alabama, the late Howell Heflin.

Years before running for the Senate himself, Jones became known for prosecuting two KKK members for the bombing of Birmingham’s 16 th Street Baptist church in 1963 which killed four black girls.

After his appointment as US attorney in Birmingham in 1997, Jones resulted a team of federal and state attorneys during trials that resulted in the convictions of Thomas Blanton Jr in 2001 and Bobby Frank Cherry in 2002.

Photograph: Marvin Gentry/ X02859

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Moore, who late on Tuesday was refusing to concede the race, had been favored in the deep red state until two women came forward to assert that Moore assaulted them when they were adolescents; a number of another woman said the Alabama Republican had romantically pursued them when they were underage. Moore has denied all the allegations.

Alabama has long faced a profound racial divide, which was reflected in the results. According to an exit poll, Jones won 95% of the African-American vote but only 27% of the white vote in the Yellowhammer State. However, widespread African-American turnout on Jones’s behalf overcame Moore’s margins in rural, predominantly white parts of Alabama.

Jones also made significant inroads among college-educated whites. He won well-educated Madison county by a margin of 57-40. A center of the aerospace industry, the district voted for Trump by a margin of 55-38 in 2016.

‘More in common than what would divide us’

Jones emerged to a euphoric reception just before 10 pm local time.” Folks, I gotta tell you, I think that I have been waiting all my life and now I simply don’t know what the hell to say ,” he said, beginning a 10 -minute speech.” I have always believed that the person or persons of Alabama had more in common than what would divide us .”

The election had never been either about him or Moore, he insisted.” This entire race has been about dignity and respect. This campaign has been about the rule of law. This campaign has been about common courtesy and decency and inducing sure everyone in this state, regardless of what zip code you live in, is going to get a fair shake .”

His speech was met with cheers and applause and chants of” USA! USA !”

They already have one defector in senator Bob Corker, and Jones’s election entails a single additional Republican breaking ranks would sink the legislation .

Moore’s defeat also marks a major personal blow to Trump, who endorsed the Alabama Republican and held a rally on his behalf merely over the state line in Pensacola, Florida. Although most national Republicans rushed to distance themselves from Moore in the aftermath of the allegations, Trump reaffirmed his support through tweets and public statements.

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The Roy Moore file

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Born

Roy Stewart Moore, 11 February 1947, in Gadsden, Alabama, the oldest of five children of a construction worker and housewife.

Best of times

He had a large slab of Vermont granite inscribed with quotes from the Declaration of Independence, “the member states national” anthem and the founding fathers installed in the Alabama supreme court. It was topped off with tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments.

Worst of Times

In Vietnam, Moore insisted his troops salute him on the battlefield. He was named” Captain America” and later remembered sleeping on sandbags to avoid a grenade flung under his cot in retribution.

What he says

” I think it[ America] was great at the time when families were unified. Even though we had slavery, they cared for one another .”

What others say

After refusing to acknowledge same-sex marriage legislation, Human Rights Campaign said:” It is clear that Roy Moore not only believes he is above the law, he believes he is above judicial ethics …”

Photograph: Brynn Anderson/ AP

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Shortly after the findings are called, Trump tweeted his congratulations to Jones 😛 TAGEND

Donald J. Trump (@ realDonaldTrump)

Congratulations to Doug Jones on a hard oppose victory. The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win. The people of Alabama are great, and the Republican will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never objective!

Early on Wednesday morning, the president tried to claim he had always known Moore would lose, recalling his backing for foe Luther Strange in the Republican primary that had preceded the special election.” The reason I originally endorsed Luther Strange( and his numbers ran up mightily ),” Trump wrote,” is that I said Roy Moore will not be able to win the General Election. I was right! Roy worked hard but the deck was stacked against him !”

Moore’s defeat is a significant blow to the efforts by Steve Bannon and the populist Trump wing of the Republican party to undermine Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.

Bannon and his allies are planning a series of primary challenges against establishment Republican in 2018. Moore’s defeat significantly reduces their leverage as the joint efforts of Bannon and his rightwing news website, Breitbart, could not elect their preferred nominee in a state that Trump won in a landslide in 2016.

Steven Law, the head of the McConnell-allied Senate Leadership Fund, set the blame squarely on Bannon moments after the race was called.” This is a brutal reminder that candidate quality matters regardless of where you are running ,” Law said.” Not merely did Steve Bannon expense us a critical Senate seat in one of the most Republican states in the country, but he also dragged the president of the United States into his fiasco .”

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Cory Gardner, the head of the National Republican Senate Committee, which categorically refused to back Moore, said:” Tonight’s results are clear: the person or persons of Alabama deemed Roy Moore unfit to serve in the US Senate .”

While national Republican accepted defeat, at Moore’s election night event, presidential candidates and his supporters still held out hope.

‘The evening is not over yet’

Moore’s campaign chairman, Bill Armistead, took the stage to insist that” the evening is not over yet” and cited Alabama’s provision for an automatic recount if result was within half of a percentage point. He also noted optimistically that there were still outstanding military ballots.

Moore then took the stage to say:” When the vote is this close, it’s not over .” He then bemoaned that he had been” painted in an unfavorable and unfaithful light” before recommending attendees to go home and go to sleep.

Caitlin Barringer, 29, who works in healthcare, said:” We eventually have a person who will represent all of Alabama. I can’t believe it’s taken this long for people be recognised that Roy Moore is not what he says he is .”

Looking at the media crews in the ballroom, she added:” I’m thankful everyone from all over the world is here and Alabama has shown we are so much more than closed-minded people .”

Community activist Keith Williams, 43, who is African American, said:” Miracles do happen. I have a message for America: don’t count Alabama out. The progressive motion is going forward .”

The Minnesota senator had begun to attain his mark on Capitol Hill as an incisive and amusing presence, but those who knew him alerted he came here with baggage

When Al Franken was mooted as a possible dark horse in the 2020 presidential election, those who knew him warned that he comes with baggage. They little guessed how much.

The Democratic senator announced on Thursday that he will resign in the coming weeks following a string of sex misconduct accusations. It marked a dizzying rise and fall for the comedian-turned-politician whose legacy on Capitol Hill will be heatedly contested.

In his farewell address on the Senate floor, Franken sought to portray himself as a victim.” Some of the allegations against me are simply not true ,” he said defiantly.” Others I remember very differently … But this decision is not about me. It’s about the people of Minnesota .”

Not all the people of Minnesota have been taken by surprise by the events of the past three weeks, however. Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, said:” I didn’t know of any of these accusations but he’s a very self-confident person who guess of himself as special. With some of the accusations you see that: what he felt was being goofy or having his style was clearly unacceptable .”

During the election campaign Republican attempted to turn his old jokes against him, but in vain. The Democrat creaked home by 312 referendums after an eight-month legal battle. But anyone expecting him to become court jester in the Senate was in for a letdown .~ ATAGEND

” Possibly the most ridiculous Politician Skill I had to learn … was how to’ fulcrum ,’ which basically means’ not answer questions ‘,” he writes. But there were occasional lapsings, such as the time he rolled his eyes at the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell.” As soon as Mitch had finished his speech, he marched up to the podium and let me know he was furious, as he had every right to be.’ This isn’t’ Saturday Night Live ,’ Al !'”

Meanwhile Franken induced significant contributions to policy, including to Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Jacobs said:” There’s no doubt Al Franken is very bright, “hes having” genuine interest in public policy and he worked hard to prove to his constituents and his fellow senators that he was worthy .”

But the inner jester was still there and so were its dark secrets. Allegations began to emerge last month when Los Angeles radio anchor Leeann Tweeden accused Franken of forcibly kissing her during a 2006 United Service Organisations tour. He apologised and called for himself to be investigated, but over day a further seven women came forward with asserts about inappropriate behaviour.

During an interview with the Guardian at a cafe in St Paul in September, a casually dressed Franken showed a down-to-earth side of his personality, relating how he had just been to the Minnesota Vikings’ training camp with his son. A stranger approached him and said:” I’m this close to asking for your autograph but the memory will be enough .” Franken graciously insisted on an autograph.

Reaction in his home country is mixed, Jacobs said, with conservatives generally “elated” and some liberals “hopping mad” that the senator has been pushed out of office.” I believe most Minnesotans have a heavy heart. A sense of disloyalty, frustration and annoyance about what’s going on in public life .”

For now, Franken has joined the ranks of Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Charlie Rose and Matt Lauer as out of work and unemployable. But he said on Thursday:” I may be resigning my seat, but I am not giving up my voice .”

Jacobs suspects he could yet attempt a third act.” He may be forced from office but I don’t think it’s the last we’ve seen of him. He may recover, re-energise and come back as a spitfire comedian looking for retaliation. I would not want to be on his enemies list .”

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Minnesota senator, 66, recommended by several female my fellow members to resign as allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior mount

Half a dozen female Democratic senators have called on Al Franken to resign, as other women stepped forward to accuse the Minnesota Democrat of sexually inappropriate behavior. They were joined by the minority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, and the national party chair, Tom Perez, who also called on Franken to step down.

Franken’s office said he would make a public statement- expected to include a response to the calls- on Thursday. One Democratic senator, Ron Wyden, said he expected Franken to” announce his resignation tomorrow “.

In Facebook posts, tweets and public statement, several Democrats advised their colleague to step aside amid widening accusations of sexual assault and misconduct against powerful humen that have roiled Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Washington.

” I have spent a lot of day reflecting on Senator Franken’s behaviour ,” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, a longtime advocate for victims of sexual assault, said in a Facebook post that started the cascade of calls.” Enough is enough .”

Gillibrand was joined by Patty Murray of Washington, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Kamala Harris of California and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.

Those calls were swiftly echoed by other colleagues, including Dick Durbin, the No 2 Democrat in the Senate, as well as Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, and Joe Donnelly of Indiana.

Tom Perez, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, also called on Franken to resign.

” Everybody has to share the responsibility of building a culture of trust and respect for women in every industry and workplace, and that includes our party ,” Perez said.

Perez’s remarks came less than 36 hours after the Republican National Committee renewed its support for Roy Moore, the Republican Senate candidate who is facing multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior with teenage girls and women, including sexual assault.

While many national Republican have distanced themselves from the Alabama Republican, he has approved by Donald Trump. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, who has called on Moore to drop out, has said the Alabama Republican would face an ethics investigation if elected.

McConnell issued a statement calling for Franken to step down:” The near daily barrage of allegations of sexual misconduct against Senator Franken are extremely concerning to all of us in the Senate. While the Senate ethics committee is reviewing these serious allegations, it now appears that Senator Franken has lost the support of his colleagues, and most importantly, his constituents. I do not believe he can effectively serve the person or persons of Minnesota in the US Senate any longer .”

Hours afterward, the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, weighed in to say he too believed Franken should resign. In a brief statement, Schumer said:” I consider Senator Franken a dear friend and greatly respect his accomplishments, but he has a higher obligation to his constituents and the Senate, and he should step down immediately .”

Franken, 66, who has been accused by multiple other women of groping or trying to forcibly kiss them, has apologized for his behaviour and asked the Senate ethics committee to analyse himbut the senators said elected official must be held to a higher standard, putting his political future in question. Franken did not appear in the Senate on Monday.

” This institution has evolved over centuries, it’s evolved over my virtually three decades of service, and it’s evolving once more before our very eyes ,” said Murray, a member of Democratic leadership.

” This current evolution is long overdue. It’s time for us as elected representatives to hold ourselves to a higher criterion, to define two examples, and to live a situated of values that is truly representative and worthy of the Congress, our republic, and our great country .”

Hirono tweeted:” Today, I am calling on my colleague Al Franken to step aside. I’ve fought with this decision because he’s been a good senator and I consider him a friend. But that cannot excuse his behaviour and his mistreatment of women .”

Harris posted:” Sexual harassment and misconduct should not be allowed by anyone and should not occur anywhere. I believe the best thing for Senator Franken to do is step down .”

Earlier on Tuesday, Politico reported on a new accusation against Franken. A former Democratic congressional aide said the former comedian tried to forcibly kiss her after a taping of his radio show in 2006, as he was ramping up his campaign for the US Senate, according to Politico. The aide dodged his advance and alleged that Franken said as she left:” It’s my right as an entertainer .” Franken denied the accusation to Politico.

The calls for Franken to resign come one day after John Conyers, the longest-serving Democrat in Congress, resigned after allegations of sexual harassment. Conyers, who was the top Democrat on the House judiciary committee and spend over a half-century on Capitol Hill, had settled one claim of sexual harassment against him with taxpayer money and had been accused of misconduct by several other former staffers.

Two other members of Congress currently face allegations of sexual harassment: Republican Blake Farenthold of Texas and Democrat Ruben Kihuen of Nevada.

But Brazile says the larger issue was that her campaign was ” anemic” and had taken on” the odor of failing “.

After holding a dozen combinations to replace Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine from Virginia, Brazile writes that she settled on Biden and Cory Booker of New Jersey as those with the best chance of defeating Trump.

Ultimately, the former DNC head says,” I thought of Hillary, and all the women in the country who were so proud of and excited about her. I could not do this to them .”

It is uncertain whether Biden was willing to step into the race or even whether he discussed the idea with Brazile. A spokesman for the former vice-president did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

Brazile writes that on 12 September 2016, the day after Clinton collapsed, Biden’s chief of staff called saying the vice-president wanted to speak with her and that her suppose at the time was ” Gee, I wonder what he wanted to talk to me about ?”

As for Brazile’s powers to decide the party’s nominee, she writes that as party chair she would oversee the process of replacing a nominee who became disabled.

Brazile writes she believed a joint fundraising arrangement signed between Clinton and the DNC” looked unethical” and she felt Clinton had too much influence on the party during a competitive Democratic primary with rival Bernie Sanders.

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1:30

Hillary Clinton: ‘Without the Comey letter I would have won’

During the nomination process for the 2016 election Democrats argued among themselves over whether Clinton was being given an unfair advantage over Sanders, a Vermont independent who sought the party’s nomination with the backing of its more liberal members.

On Saturday, DNC Chairman Tom Perez issued a statement saying he and the DNC leadership were committed to ensuring the nomination process in 2020 will be” unquestionably fair and transparent “.

Among the reforms he said he developed after listening to Democrats across the party spectrum was ensuring that” no candidate participating in our presidential nominating process gains any unjust advantage — real or perceived — during our primary season “. He also said the debate schedule would be decided in advance rather than negotiated after all candidates had entered the race.

Perez also pledged to ensure all joint fundraising agreements would be transparent, including the new Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund arrangements developed with the 50 state parties.

The White House has been condemned for attempting to stillnes the media by warning that it is” highly inappropriate” to challenge the veracity of remarks by a military general.

A reporter on Friday questioned a claim by the White House chief of staff, John Kelly, a retired four-star marine general, that the Democratic congresswoman Frederica Wilson had taken credit for securing funding for an FBI building in Florida.

Chip Reid, a CBS News correspondent, said during the daily press briefing:” He was wrong yesterday in talking about getting the money. The money was procured before she came into Congress .”

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, replied coldly:” If you want to go after Gen Kelly, that’s up to you. But I think that if you want to get into a debate with a four-star marine general, I think that that’s something highly inappropriate .”

Reid’s follow-up topic was ignored and the implication- from a democratically elected civilian government- that a military general was beyond criticism was troubling to many.

Perry O’Brien, a former army medic who served in Afghanistan, said:” It’s just another example of the administration conceal behind the uniform of others. That’s why it’s so unfortunate to see someone like Gen Kelly enable that and jump on the grenade that Trump hurled .”

O’Brien, organising director of Common Defense, a group of veterans against Trump, added:” When “theyre saying”,’ How dare you criticise a general ?’, how about[ former Trump national security consultant] Gen Michael Flynn, who was the first to resign after we learned they were colluding with foreign powers? I don’t think most generals would say a star on your shoulder stimulates you immune from criticism .”

Kelly appeared at the White House podium on Thursday, to defend Trump against the charge that he caused offence during a bellow with the widow of Sgt La David Johnson, one of four US soldiers killed in Niger earlier this month by Islamic State fighters. Wilson heard the call and criticised Trump for disrespecting Johnson’s widow, Myeshia.

While defending the president, Kelly- whose son Robert was killed in Afghanistan in 2010- accused Wilson of “grandstanding” in a 2015 speech by saying she was instrumental in getting funding for an FBI building in Florida and took care of her constituents because she got the money. Wilson denied the charge and video evidence appeared to support her account.

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3:42

John Kelly rebukes Trump critics over military deaths- video

Kelly stood by his accusation, Sanders said on Friday.” Gen Kelly said he was stunned that Representative Wilson induced commentaries at a build dedication honouring slain FBI agents about her own actions in Congress, including lobbying former president Obama on legislation ,” she said.

” As Gen Kelly pointed out, if you’re able to make a sacred act like honouring American heroes all about yourself, you’re an’ empty barrel ‘. If you don’t understand that reference, I’ll put it a bit more simply. As we say in the south: all hat , no cattle .”

Wilson regularly wears a cowboy hat.

Challenged over the video footage of the speech, in which Wilson praises FBI agents, Sanders insisted:” She also had quite a few comments that day that weren’t part of that speech and weren’t part of that video that were also witnessed by many people that were there .”

The press secretary also rejected criticism from Johnson’s mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, who supports the accounts of the Trump phone call given by her son’s widow and Wilson.

” Certainly, if the spirit of which those comments were intended were misunderstood, that’s very unfortunate ,” Sanders said.” But as the president has said, as Gen Kelly said- who I guess has a very deep understanding of what that individual would be going through – his comments were very sympathetic, very respectful. And that was the spirit in which the president intended them. If they were taken any other style, that’s certainly an unfortunate thing .”

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0:41

Trump: ‘I didn’t say what the congresswoman said’- video

According to Wilson, Trump told Johnson’s widow her late spouse” knew what he signed up for, but when it happens it hurts anyway “.

Kelly in effect corroborated that account, saying he had counseled Trump on how to induce the bellow by telling him of the morning he was told of his son’s death. Kelly remembered his close friend, Gen Joseph Dunford, telling him his son” was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was killed “.

” He knew what the possibilities were, because we’re at war ,” Kelly said.” That’s what the president tried to say to the four families the other day .”

Trump, however, continues to vehemently deny that he said such words.

” The fake news is going crazy with wacky congresswoman Wilson[ Democrat] who was secretly on a very personal call and dedicated a total lie on content ,” he tweeted late on Thursday.

Kelly also indicated Wilson had eavesdropped on a highly sensitive call. The congresswoman, a close friend of the Johnson family, pointed out she was in the car when Myeshia Johnson received the call, which was placed on speakerphone.

Wilson said Trump’s comments were” not a good message to say to anyone who has lost a child at war “.

” You don’t sign on because you think you’re going to die ,” she said.” You sign up to serve your country. There’s nothing to misinterpret. He said what he said. I only don’t agree with it. I just don’t agree with that’s what you should say to grieving households .”

Regarding Kelly’s statements about the FBI field office speech, Wilson said she had not been a member of Congress in 2009, when the funding mentioned by Kelly was procured. “That’s a lie,” she said of Kelly’s characterization.” How dare he ?”

She added:” I feel sorry for Gen Kelly. He has my sympathy for the loss of his son. But he can’t just go on Tv and lie on me .”